Browns stun Packers 13-10

    Andre Szmyt nailed a fifty-five-yard field goal on the game's final play to shock the Green Bay Packers and give the Cleveland Browns a 13-10 win in Cleveland.

Quinshon Judkins rushed for 94 yards and scored the only Cleveland touchdown to lead an anemic offense.

The defense led the way, sacking Jordan Love five times, Maliek Collins at the top with one and a half.

Cleveland improves to 1-2 on the season with the miraculous win and will travel to Detroit Sunday to meet the Lions.

I am writing this way too late, but due to a work trip and getting home on Monday, I just haven't had the time.

Brownie Bits

1) Cleveland never led this game with time on the clock. Think about that.

They never led until Andre Szmyt's field goal, which settled behind the goal post with no time remaining.

2)  I thought the Browns should have let Andre Szymt go after his awful game against the Bengals, but he came through big time against Green Bay!

Good for him, believe it or not, I want players to do well (usually), and I was happy for him.

3) Keep in mind, Cade York kicked a long game winner once, too, and look at how that turned out.

I'm not saying Szmpt will fail, just that we will see.

4) Grant Delpit's interception with 3:18 remaining set up the game-tying touchdown.

It was the first takeaway of the season for Cleveland and the first turnover for Green Bay on the year.

Delpit was such a ballhawk at LSU, and even though I think he's a good player, Delpit didn't bring that part of his game to the Browns.

Perhaps that's something that could be changing.

5) Green Bay came to town with a vaunted offense, and the Browns just shut them down as the Packers finished with only 230 yards of total offense, which was barely more than the pitiful Browns 221.

I know everyone says if the Browns are going to win games, this is how they do it, but it's tough.

6) Carson Schwesinger was a standout on defense, including a sack that saw him smash Jordan Love like a called QB Waggle in Tecmo Bowl!

This guy's all over the place, and it's hard to believe he wasn't starting for UCLA at the beginning of last year.

7) Bubba Ventrone's special teams received lots of deserved grief in the first two games, but they came through here with Andre Szmyt's kicking and Shelby Harris's huge blocked field goal at the end of the game that allowed the Browns a chance for the win.

8) Shelby Harris seems to have the knack for blocking kicks.

Some of that is luck, but much of it is instinct, and it eventually could keep Harris playing longer than he normally would in his career.

9) Joe Flacco didn't play well, finishing with 142 yards and one interception.

However, the interception was way downfield near the end of the half on a fourth down that Green Bay would have been better off to knock down rather than grab, and Flacco's veteran skills were perfect for the situation at the game's end, when he knew just how much time he needed to hit David Njoku over the middle.

10) Cleveland was out of timeouts, so they had to get the play off, and the clock stopped for Andre Szmyt to try the game-winner.

Flacco gained the needed extra yards and coolly got the team in order for the spike with two seconds to go.

I know some want Dillon Gabriel, and his time will come soon, but there is no chance Dillon Gabriel pulls that off on this day.

Experience sometimes matters.

11) I gripe every week about the passing game, but no one gets open downfield, and the wideouts are so bad that I'll take the bet that both tight ends (David Njoku and Harold Fannin) finish one and two for receptions.

Jerry Jeudy caught one pass of five targets for seventeen yards.

Whoo Hoo.

12) Dawand Jones suffered a knee injury and will miss the rest of the season.

Jones hadn't played well, but his loss means that either aging veteran Corneilius Lucas or second-year player KT Leveston will be seeing lots more playing time.

That doesn't bode well for Joe Flacco's protection.

13) The Browns are 1-2, and I hear some are excited about the win.

While I'm pleased, many say they could be 2-1, and yes, I suppose they could.

I'll look at it this way, as Bill Parcells said, "You are what your record says you are."

They won a game that they should have lost (Green Bay) and lost one that they should have won (Cincinnati).

1-2 is exactly where they should be.

Sunk in New Orleans, Browns Downed by Saints

    Before I begin, due to work issues, I was unable to watch the Ohio State 31-7 win over Northwestern with any type of normal attention, so I'm not going to do a game review for the Buckeye victory.

The Cleveland Browns received a stellar day from Jameis Winston in his return to New Orleans but a defensive inability to control the Saints Taysom Hill led to three fourth-quarter touchdowns and a 35-14 New Orleans win at the Superdome.

Winston finished with 395 yards passing and two touchdowns without an interception and Jerry Jeudy grabbed six passes for 142 receiving yards including an eighty-nine-yard touchdown.

Cleveland drops to 2-8 on the season and will have a quick return to action with a Thursday night game against the visiting first-place Pittsburgh Steelers.

Brownie Bits

1) I may be way off on this but whether the house cleaning is now or in January, this loss feels like the turning point when the fans and maybe even the Haslams see no more hope.

The Haslams may have silently decided to clean house after such a loss as I'm not sure that that anyone can feel like this can be turned around with the current people in charge.

2) The defensive breakdown in the fourth quarter from the supposed strength of the squad is another item that I just cannot grasp.

Poor tackling, players in the wrong places, and in a few cases, indifferent effort have been part of the franchise for years and often has been the tip-off that it's time for yet another regine change.

3) One thing that I have seen far too often over the last few games is Juan Thornhill getting lost with his assignments and then pointing out another player for fault.

The Saints (and others) get the ball to someone in the open field, the player cruises in for a score as my jaw drops open as in how did that guy get so open, and then the camera scans to Thornhill pointing to someone and jawing back and forth.

Thornhill was signed as a costly free agent before the 2023 season and played in eleven of seventeen games in that season and five of the ten thus far in 2024.

Thornhill's been a huge disappointment and I would wager that he will be a major candidate for a cap casualty in the off-season.

4) And there was Taysom Hill, the Victorinox of New Orleans, who seemed to become Nile Kinnick before the Brown eyes with three rushing touchdowns (including one of seventy-five yards), rushed for 138 yards, caught eight passes for another fifty yards, completed a pass for eighteen yards, and returned a kickoff for forty-two yards.

And Hill could have been better as he lost a fumble inside the Cleveland ten-yard line!

5) The Browns seemed astonished by Hill and his usage and what made that even worse was New Orleans interim head coach Darren Rizzi's interview at the half with Jen Hale (one of the better sideline reporters).

Hale asked Rizzi if he thought the Saints were using Hill too much in the game as the fumble occurred late in the half.

Rizzi's answer was that he didn't think they had used him enough and thought they would use him more in the second half!

Yet, no one either saw this or sent the message to the coaching staff and Hill just destroyed the Browns in a game that won't be forgotten for quite a while.

6) Dustin Hopkins was reliable last season and received a three-year contract extension from the Browns.

It appears 2023 was the aberration as Hopkins missed two field goals, one of them a twenty-seven-yard chip shot that he was given a second chance by a Saints penalty after missing from thirty-three yards.

Hopkins is currently fourteen of twenty this season and has missed two extra points.

7) The extension that Dustin Hopkins signed showed the issues with extending kickers as only the very best booters are elite every season.

Kickers are very much like relief pitchers in baseball- it's very hard to rely on them being consistent every season and one season's standout often is the next's disappointment and Hopkins is another example of not only that rule but how Andrew Berry has needlessly spent this team into cap problems.

8) Jameis Winston's numbers were good and didn't throw an interception, although the Saints did drop a few possible picks but where he was the most impressive was where he continued to improve the Browns receivers, who look closer to league average with Winston in the pocket.

Winston is still erratic but the Browns have a chance to win with him while I don't think the same should the Browns start Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

9) What I can do without are the interviews with Winston, where he rambles incessantly about the Almighty.

Now I'm more than fine with crediting the Lord and discussing his beliefs but couldn't Winston answer the questions that are asked as well?

It's clear that his teammates love Winston and he's got charisma to burn but you can at least speak a little on what you are asked before kicking into Benny Hinn mode.

10) The Browns suffered a big loss as left tackle Dawand Jones broke his ankle when Wyatt Teller rolled over Jones, snapping his ankle with an injury that will end Jones's season.

Germain Ifedi finished the game and might play against the Steelers but it could mean the eventual return of the noted "businessman" Jedrick Wills to the lineup for the following game against Denver.

11) David Njoku caught all nine passes thrown to him for eighty-one yards and is the reliable short man for  Jameis Winston's checkdowns.

Njoku is going to have a ten-plus, one hundred-yard-plus with scores game before this season ends, he's sitting on it, it's just a matter of time.

12)  Denzel Ward intercepted a Derek Carr pass in the game, which ordinarily wouldn't be a big deal but when you consider that the Browns had intercepted a whopping one pass after nine games.

13) The Browns are out of control and the fourth-quarter meltdown against the supposed strength of the team showed that this team is close to giving up and turning this season into a wreck for the ages.

Should Pittsburgh dominate the Browns on Thursday on national television, the Haslams could make a move if not THE move.

Browns lose Jack Conklin for season

  It was expected that the Cleveland Browns were going to lose starting right tackle Jack Conklin for the remainder of the season after his injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in the season opener and the news didn't bring a pleasant surprise as Conklin will miss the season with a torn ACL and MCL.

Conklin signed a four-year contract extension in the off-season and even though it was unlikely that Conklin would be around for all four seasons, the Browns certainly didn't expect to have Conklin play less than one game.

Conklin played fourteen games last season after returning from an injured Patella Tendon in the twelfth game of the 2021 season.

Cleveland will start fourth-round draft pick Dawand Jones in the spot vacated by Conklin and hope that the learning curve isn't too steep for the Ohio State rookie.

Jones played well against the Bengals in pass protection and is very nimble for a man his size (6'8 375 pounds) but will need to step up his game in the run-blocking department.

The Browns moved veteran Michael Dunn to the active roster from the practice squad and Dunn is a solid reserve lineman that would have made the roster for many teams out of camp, so while Dunn isn't as good as the players in front of him, the definition of depth is to have as many people as possible that are capable if they are needed to play.

Seldom are backup players the same level as the player they are replacing but the key is to lose as little as possible from the starter.

Dunn's best position is guard but he can play tackle in a pinch and 2022 fourth-round draftee James Hudson will be the main backup for Jones (and left tackle Jedric Wills) and Hudson will likely see a few snaps here and there when needed.

Another player to remember is former first-rounder Alex Leatherwood, who has struggled since his 2021 selection by the Raiders and was signed to the practice squad.

I think Bill Callahan may be the best offensive line coach in the game and I would be anxious to see if Callahan's expertise can turn around a player that was thought to be extremely talented when he entered the league from Alabama. 

Browns select Dawand Jones

    The Cleveland Browns used the first of their two selections in the fourth round on massive offensive tackle Dawand Jones of Ohio State and I like this choice for more than just keeping a Buckeye in-state.

I had hoped the Browns would take a tackle today as I'm always concerned about the injury history with the beginning-to-age Jack Conklin and 2021 fourth-rounder at the position James Hutson still has more developing to do in order to depend on him as a starting right tackle.

Dawand Jones brings the type of size and dimension that teams dream of for a tackle on either side of the line at 6'8, 359 pounds and as ESPN referenced during the draft, Jones has the same wingspan as NBA centers Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis.

Jones has tremendous pushing power and is pretty light on his feet for a player of his size and Jones is more than just a plodder as he was recruited by Division I schools as a basketball player.

Most projections had Jones as a late first to second-round player and it's surprising he slipped this far but Jones only started for two seasons at Ohio State, hasn't always played to his potential, and might be a player that teams are always going to be worried about his weight getting out of control.

Still, for a fourth-round pick, the Browns addressed a future need with likely the best player on the board with tremendous physical skills.

If the Browns can motivate him, keep him in shape, and teach him a few things (offensive line coach Bill Callahan ranks with the best in the league), Cleveland may have drafted a steal here in Dawand Jones.

Still, offensive linemen of Jones's size are as likely to fail as they are to dominate, so there is a little hesitation on his future but the Browns have to be excited to land a player in round four with this type of potential.